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the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced that in August it welcomed 14 new regular members to its ranks, which currently numbers more than 2,200 member companies.

A partnership of water sector organizations—the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and WateReuse— today released the Water Resources Utility of the Future 2015 Annual Report. The report was officially released this morning during a special utility executives session at WEFTEC 2015 in Chicago

Over the past year, global real estate firms have reduced energy consumption in buildings by the equivalent of almost 280,000 barrels of oil and cut carbon emissions by the equivalent of removing 25,000 cars from the road, according to a new report, Greenprint Performance Report: Volume 6, released by the ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Greenprint Center for Building Performance, a worldwide alliance of leading real estate owners, investors and financial institutions committed to improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions across the global property industry, has announced the addition of Solaria Corporation and Stem, Inc. as its newest innovation partners.

The Community Home Lenders Association (CHLA) today released an Action Plan that lays out transitional steps to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, preserve a government guarantee, and protect taxpayers.    The Plan was released in response to concerns that some aspects of pending Congressional GSE proposals could promote market concentration and a return of Big Bank practices that contributed to the 2008 housing crisis.

Housing counselors across the country working with homeowners to find an alternative to foreclosure for thousands of homeowners cite improving communications with servicers, but note that more needs to be done, according to the latest report on the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program (NFMC). NFMC is a congressionally funded effort that has helped more than 1.9 million homeowners understand their foreclosure prevention options

On the second day of this year’s Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, the focus of the opening plenary turned to helping Nepal “build back better” following the devastating earthquakes last spring. The plenary session featured a commitment by CGI members All Hands Volunteers and The Architects Foundation to reconstruct culturally appropriate, earthquake resilient permanent homes for displaced families in the Sindhupalchuk district of Nepal, a region in which approximately 90% of the housing stock was destroyed

The Architects Foundation today released its first annual report on the National Resilience Initiative (NRI), a growing network of resilient design studios geared toward helping local communities become more resilient to natural disasters and climate change

On Monday, September 28 the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) will host a statewide summit in Baltimore on community reinvestment and neighborhood revitalization in Maryland. The Maryland Reinvestment Summit will feature keynote addresses by U.S. Congressman Elijah Cummings and Benjamin Jealous, Partner at Kapor Capital.

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced the first 10 winners of the Build Your Future Scholarship through ABC’s Trimmer Construction Education Foundation (TCEF). The scholarships are awarded to the top 10 students attending an NCCER-accredited program or a state/federally approved apprenticeship program in a merit-shop training facility. The scholarships are funded through a pledge of $100,000 from Build Your Future over the next five years.

Pending home sales retreated in August but remained at a healthy level of activity and have now risen year–over–year for 12 consecutive months, according to the National Association of Realtors®. A modest increase in the West was offset by declines in all other regions.

Following three straight months of gains, existing–home sales dipped in August despite slowing price growth and a positive turnaround in the share of sales to first–time buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors®. None of the four major regions experienced sales increases in August

With 78 million baby boomers entering or on the verge of retirement, the U.S. needs a more strategic approach for linking health care and housing policies and programs, according to a new Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) paper being released today during an event with the Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota

Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 5.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000 units in August from an upwardly revised July reading, according to newly released data from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau

Mortgage applications increased 13.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 18, 2015. The previous week's results included an adjustment for the Labor Day holiday.

The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) slipped in August after showing mostly healthy business conditions so far this year. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the August ABI score was 49.1, down from a mark of 54.7 in July. This score reflects a slight decrease in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 61.8, down from a reading of 63.7 the previous month.

Yesterday Sheila Crowley announced that she will retire in 2016 from the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) after leading the organization as President and CEO for over 17 years. Dr. Crowley will continue with NLIHC through April 2016 to ensure a smooth and successful transition for her successor

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) today commended Senate Democrats, including Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and more, for their thoughtful inclusion of smart, job-creating clean energy incentives in their newly-announced energy policy bill.

States and communities can improve services and outcomes for people with substance use disorders (SUDs) by integrating housing with treatment and recovery support programs, according to housing, homeless and SUD treatment experts who convened for a frank dialogue on new service approaches for this population. The National Council on Behavioral Health and CSH highlight that and other recommendations in a report released today: The Substance Use and Housing National Leadership Forum.

The Bipartisan Policy Center applauds legislative and executive branch efforts to improve the permitting process for infrastructure projects. “For years, this conversation has been stuck in polarized gridlock. Our nation is in desperate need of increased infrastructure investments. It is encouraging to see an array of efforts to move beyond political posturing and address this complex challenge,” BPC President Jason Grumet said